Originally from Quebec, the Canadian singer enjoyed success in her homeland throughout the 1980s, and after winning Eurovision Song Contest in 1988 it also gained popularity in several European countries. The song “Ne partez pas sans moi”, which represented Switzerland in the Eurovision competition, was liked by the listeners and appeared on the charts in several countries.
Her manager and later husband Rheniumé Englishélilknew that in order to discover the artist’s excellent vocal talent to the world, she must have a repertoire in English. Celine Dion so she polished the universal language of culture for two years to finally appear on the charts with the album “Unison”, which brought her her first success in America thanks to the hit “Where Does My Heart Beat Now”, which reached fourth place on the Billboard charts .
A real breakthrough in the artist’s life, and not only professionally, came in 1994. The famous wedding with René Angélil and the release of the well-received album “The Color of My Love”, which is still one of the artist’s best-selling albums. The entire success was made possible thanks to the sensational worldwide reception of “The Power of Love”, a song that became her first American number one, although ten years earlier its original version was not popular overseas.
The famous ballad has been present on the music market for a little longer. She was the first to write and record it forty years ago Jennifer Rush. An American singer who took her first steps in the music business as a teenager Heidi Sternwas the daughter of a famous opera singer Maurice‘and Stern. Her father ensured proper musical education. She studied piano and violin at the famous, private art school, Juilliard School. As she recalled, she hated both instruments and it was only playing the guitar that triggered her talent for writing songs. Her first album, released under her own name in 1979, went unnoticed.
At the suggestion of her then producer, she moved to Germany, where her father lived and performed, which enabled her to sign a contract with the local branch of CBS. The first songs written and recorded, which were initially released only in Germany, brought moderate interest in the artist. It was only thanks to the album “Jennifer Rush” released in 1984 that the world discovered the young American’s hit talent. However, the beginnings were not so promising. The first single to hit the charts in Germany was “25 Lovers”, only the next single “Ring of Ice” reached number 14 in the UK.
The real madness began after its release, written with German producers Gunther Mende and Candy DeRouge and an American songwriter based in Frankfurt Mary Susan Applegate, single “The Power of Love”. After conquering the German charts in 1984, the song the following year became one of the best-selling recordings in Great Britain. Her success was so enormous that she was entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling single by a female solo artist in the history of the British music industry. It was only in 1992 that “The Power of Love” lost its lead thanks to a hit Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”.
The famous recording was a hit practically all over the world except the United States. Initially, the label decided not to release the single in this market, believing that the song was too European. At that time, another song “The Power of Love” by the group occupied the Billboard chart Frankie Goes to Hollywood. When the European hit was finally released overseas, it turned out that the group AirSupply released her version, with slightly changed text. As a result, both Jennifer Rush’s original recordings and the British-Australian duo’s cover disappeared from the charts. The winner in 1985 on the American market was another composition with the same title, but authored Huey Lewis and the News.
The promotion was also not helped by the unfavorable reviews that appeared in the press. According to some journalists, the song sounded as pretentious as most love ballads at the time. The strangest thing in the entire American history of “The Power of Love” is the fact that two years later she included an almost identical version of the song on her album “Touch” Laura Braniganthe recording was well received and reached number 22 on the sales chart.
Ten years have passed since the failure of Jennifer Rush in America, when the famous hit version appeared after the release Celine Dion, reviews announced the birth of a timeless ballad. While those from Europe compared the Canadian singer’s recording with the original, for American reviewers the hit turned out to be a great discovery, as if it hadn’t played anywhere in recent years. Times were changing, and a new generation of journalists welcomed a new star, whose birth thanks to a moving ballad became a fact.
The excellent sound of “The Power of Love” is due to the producer David Foster, which cleaned the hit of all the elements characteristic of the 80s and gave it a new shine. Delicate guitars intertwined with sparse synthesizer parts, the rhythm was not as dominant as in the original, which left the song with space to fully present the artist’s magical vocal skills. Celine Dion loved the song from the moment she heard it and always wanted to cover it on her album. It turned out to be a great idea. Hit Jennifer Rush in the Canadian star’s version, it became the best-selling single of 1994 in all of America and one of the greatest commercial successes of her career. Fueled by the success of the hit album “The Color of My Love” made her a global star.
Jennifer Rush could enjoy the young star’s success. Her song finally turned out to be a hit in her homeland, the lack of great recognition overseas allowed her to have a quiet family life and raise her daughter. With royalties flowing into her pocket from the huge sales of a song performed by Celine Dion, she could focus on writing songs for herself and other artists. Although her subsequent compositions, except duets with Elton John and Placido Domingono longer conquered the charts with a bang like in the 1980s, she still enjoys almost a cult fame in Germany, as evidenced by the good sales of her last album, “Now Is the Hour” from 2010.
Celine Dion’s career took off with her first number one single in America. Subsequent albums sold millions of copies, and hit songs regularly reached the top of the charts. With her artistic passion and incredible talent, she dominated the music industry for the next two decades, becoming an undeniable music icon. We are all the more pleased with reports about the improvement of her health and rumors that warm the hearts of fans about a possible return to active activity.